Week 5

Monday July 12

12 miles, 1:23min

Tuesday July 13

AM 5 miles, 36min

PM 10 miles, 70min

Wednesday July 14

AM 6 miles, 46min, strides

PM 10 miles, 68min, grtc drills

Thursday July 15

15 miles, 1:36min

Friday July 16

AM 6 miles, 43min

PM 10 miles, 69min

Saturday July 17

11 miles heartbreak hill, 1:17min

Sunday July 18

17 miles, 1:59min

102 miles

I'd be lying if I said this week was smooth by any means. I'll admit it, I've been feeling much better on my runs as I start progressing with the mileage. However, a few things made this week a tough one. I'll even rank them for you:

#1.Drove to Methuen to run at the Whirlaway shoe store with my friend Danny Wang. My goal was to get in 12-13 miles, but most people were going 8-10. I tried adding on a few miles, got lost really bad and ended up in downtown Haverhill. After 15 miles of hammering, I called it quits. So now I'm in downtown, shirtless, at almost nighttime, wearing short shorts. I was lucky enough to chase down a taxi and ask to be dropped off at my original location. I was super dehydrated and on top of that the taxi guy charged me $20.

#2.While finishing my 10 miler on Friday, with about 1-2min to go in the run, a biker going the wrong direction collided with me. The bicycle wheels hit the inside of my quad and it took me a while to get up. Luckily, no major injuries.

#3.Stupid decision on my part to do my 17mile (1:59min) long run at 2pm. It was mid 90's hot and humid and keep in mind this was not a trail run, so 100% out on the sun with no shades. I was so dehydrated, sweating gallons of water every mile marker. All I know is that I was so happy to make it back to the house to get some iced tea. It's days like these that I really ask myself how much I really love the sport of running to keep going when I'm reaching the red line of pain and suffering. However, it's also days like these that motivate me the most when I get to the starting line for any race or when setting up any season goals. However, this is a good lesson for myself in terms of planning. I should go back to the old days and start my long runs at 6am.

Ok - So now some positives about this week...Good mileage build up. Last 3 weeks have been 83-93-102 overall and 15-16-17 for long runs. I will continue to raise both numbers in the next months ahead. That's all I have for the week. Mentally tough week, but with better planning for next week (scheduling runs around better times of the day), I should feel better.